


under the influence

by Set_Suna



Series: Pogtopia Breakdown [12]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anger, Comfort/Angst, Gen, Half enderman Ranboo, Holding Hands, Mentioned Dream, Mentioned manipulation, No Beta We Die Like Wilbur in Skyblockle, Platonic Affection, Ranboo talks to Jjjjjjjjeffrey to organize his thoughts, Ranboo's gettin PISSED, Sickfic, Tommy's gettin SICK, don't ship minors that shit's gross
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:15:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28064535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Set_Suna/pseuds/Set_Suna
Summary: Ranboo had realized it today. Tommy was in so much pain, so much that Ranboo had no idea how he could help. He'd stayed with Tommy until he asked him to leave. It was easy to see how messed up it made him to be left all alone with Dream. Dream was manipulating him. Ranboo could see that clear as day with one visit. Tommy talked about how no one came to see him except Dream. Dream came each day to destroy his items and make sure he stayed in line. Dream was stamping out Tommy's flame faster than anyone bothered to notice.When he tried not to act pitiful towards Tommy, he'd told him no one who came asked him if he was okay. No one told him things were going to get better. He relied on Dream so heavily just for some human contact. It... It pissed him off.
Relationships: Ranboo & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: Pogtopia Breakdown [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1986469
Comments: 30
Kudos: 657





	under the influence

**Author's Note:**

> c!Dream can suck my nuts and Ranboo & Tommy friendship is pog here's my thoughts on these matters

Ranboo slowly closed the door behind him. He leaned back against it, sliding down until he hit the floor. He released a breath and held his head in his hands. Jjjjjjjjeffrey mewled and curled around his legs, purring as Ranboo lifted a hand to run over his back. It was raining again. 

He hated it here. He knew that wasn't true, but the thought had crossed his mind a few times lately. He'd had a genuinely good time building and draining the ocean with Tubbo and Fundy. His conversations with Eret and the time he spent with Niki were always enjoyable. The others weren't mean to him or anything. But they didn't care. And Ranboo was starting to feel a little mad about it.

He'd visited Tommy today. He was the worst Ranboo had ever seen him. He'd watched Tommy stand at the edge of a wooden platform in the Nether and stare into the lava below. He'd barely grabbed the edge of Tommy's sleeve with his fingers before he stepped away. From what he'd heard and seen, the only person who even spoke to Tommy consistently besides himself was Dream. The man who did this in the first place.

Ranboo couldn't blame Tubbo for this. No matter how hard Tommy tried to convince him otherwise, he couldn't. He'd seen Tubbo's regret. He noticed everyday how Tubbo would space out of conversations, staring at the compass looped around his neck. He remembered when that compass was lost, blown to pieces by a creeper explosion. He remembered how Tubbo dropped to his knees on the edge of the glass walls, eyes empty and hands open limply. 

He noticed how Tommy wasn't wearing his compass this time. He also noticed how desperate he was.

Tommy wasn't okay. And no one was there to realize it. 

Ranboo shoved his hands beneath Jjjjjjjjeffrey's front legs and pulled him up, dancing his little legs around. He pushed his forehead to his cat's, feeling himself relax as Jjjjjjjjeffrey's purr vibrated against his skin. He held Jjjjjjjjeffrey out in front of him and looked into his eyes. His eyes were blue. Somehow, he thought of Tommy. _My eyes aren't blue anymore_ he'd said. 

"Tommy's in trouble, Jjjjjjjjeffrey," he told his cat, setting him down to scratch behind his ear. "I don't think he even realizes how much he's in." 

Ranboo had realized it today. Tommy was in so much pain, so much that Ranboo had no idea how he could help. He'd stayed with Tommy until he asked him to leave. It was easy to see how messed up it made him to be left all alone with Dream. Dream was manipulating him. Ranboo could see that clear as day with one visit. Tommy talked about how no one came to see him except Dream. Dream came each day to destroy his items and make sure he stayed in line. Dream was stamping out Tommy's flame faster than anyone bothered to notice. 

When he tried not to act pitiful towards Tommy, he'd told him no one who came asked him if he was okay. No one told him things were going to get better. He relied on Dream so heavily just for some human contact. It... It pissed him off. 

Jjjjjjjjeffrey meowed at him, rubbing his head against his hand before trotting back over to the the bed. A roll of thunder peeled outside, making him flinch. He hated the rain. Every time it started to rain, the enderman part of him wanted to run and hide. It made his skin crawl and his hands started to shake. He hoped Tommy was okay. 

He put his hands on his knees and pushed himself up. He started to unclasp his armor as he walked over to his bed. Jjjjjjjjeffrey's wide eyes stared up at him, blissful and unaware of what was happening. He had to do something. He couldn't leave Tommy alone anymore. 

"Tomorrow," Ranboo decided. "We're gonna help Tommy tomorrow, Jjjjjjjjeffrey." 

-

It was still raining the next morning. Ranboo shivered as he stood in his doorway. This was gonna suck. He pushed his helmet down on his head and charged out. Today was the day. He was gonna try. He was gonna try to talk some sense into Tommy. He wouldn't listen yesterday, but Ranboo was determined to stand his ground today.

The Nether was unbearably hot, per usual. He liked it better than the rain, though, so he dealt with it. He crossed Tommy's obsidian and cobblestone path, recently renovated to be partly oak logs. In the Nether. An ugly coil of emotion bubbled in Ranboo's stomach. This all felt so wrong. Why did no one else think this felt wrong?

He passed the signs Tommy had left. _Now entering Logsteadshire. Population: 1._ He resisted the urge to knock it down, gripping the hilt of his sword tighter and stepping into the portal.

It was raining. It was always raining. It was always raining when things got bad. Or in this case, when they got worse. Ranboo bristled as soon as he stepped out of the portal. Ghostbur was hovering outside of Tommy's tent, panically looking inside the tent and out again. He jumped when he saw Ranboo, but frantically began to wave him over.

"Oh, oh, hi Ranboo I, uh... help! Please!" Ghostbur called as he ran over.

"What-What's wrong?" Ranboo asked, turning to look into Tommy's tent and freezing. 

"It's Tommy, I-I can't help him, Ranboo, I-" Ghostbur stuttered, shoving his hand through Ranboo's torso to make a point.

Tommy was curled up in his bed, shaking and sweating. His hair was stuck to his forehead, and every breath he took rattled in his chest and shook his entire body. He was sick. He was so incredibly sick that Ranboo knew he could do nothing for him. His eyes slowly began to open, and Ranboo dropped what he was holding to kneel at his side. 

"What...?" Tommy slurred, trying to sit up on shaking arms only to collapse down again.

"No, no, don't get up, Tommy," Ranboo said, placing his own trembling hand on Tommy's shoulder. "You need to-You need to conserve your strength."

"What do we do? He's-He's _so bad, Ranboo,_ and I-I don't know what to do," Ghostbur worried, running his ghost-fingers through his ghost-hair. 

Ranboo swallowed. Okay. He had to be the logical one here. Who could help? He didn't think taking Tommy through the Nether was a good idea. He didn't even know if anyone would come to help if he asked. Going and coming back to only have to take him somewhere else was a lot of time Ranboo wasn't sure they could waste. 

"You said-You said Phil and Techno live around here, right? How far is that?" Ranboo asked, turning to Ghostbur.

Ghostbur perked, hearing a question he could answer. "Oh! Through the forest, they live in a snowy area just past there." 

Ranboo involuntarily whined. It was still raining. He hated the rain. And he didn't think it would be good if Tommy got any amount of it on him. Still, they couldn't sit here and wait for it to pass. He went to stand, but stopped when a hand weakly latched onto his. Tommy was staring up at him with hazy and watery eyes. 

"Don't go," he mumbled desperately.

This sucked. This sucked _so_ much. Ranboo felt something red and hot boil in his stomach. 

He squeezed Tommy's hand and promised, "I'm not going anywhere." 

Tommy squeezed his hand weakly and sighed, relieved. Ranboo turned to Ghostbur and pointed to his shield he'd dumped outside the tent.

"You can interact with objects, right? Can you carry that?" he asked. 

"Yeah, I can, why?" Ghostbur questioned, floating over to the shield and picking it up.

"It's gonna be scuffed, but we gotta get Tommy to Techno's place," Ranboo declared. "I'll carry him on my back, so can you hold my shield over him and make sure he doesn't get wet?"

"Yeah, yeah I can do that," Ghostbur agreed almost instantly. 

Ranboo swallowed, squeezing Tommy's hand just to get a reaction and make sure he was still awake. He turned back to Tommy and told him gently, "Okay, I'm gonna pick you up, Tommy, alright? Can you wrap your arms around my neck?"

The limp nod he got in response was enough. Ranboo helped Tommy sit up and slid his legs into the right position. When he felt Tommy's arms on his shoulders and his body press against his back, Ranboo slowly got to his feet.

"There we go," he exhaled. He waited for Ghostbur to adjust the blankets wrapped tightly around Tommy's shoulders before saying, "We're gonna go somewhere safe. Hang in there, Tommy."

Tommy hummed tiredly. Ranboo felt him nuzzle his head against his back. He looked to Ghostbur, who gave him a determined nod, and stepped out into the rain. 

Ranboo could barely hear his own thoughts over the pounding of rain on his helmet. God bless long legs and even longer strides. But he was too angry to not think about it.

No one had come to see Tommy to check on him. No one. That was a fact he was starting to accept. People left him gifts and came to talk with him briefly, but they never stayed. They never made an attempt to change anything about the situation. And it pissed Ranboo off. 

Dream was _using_ Tommy. He was making him think no one cared for him and was filling his head with lies. Being exiled wrecked Tommy. Dream's manipulation only made it worse. He was more passive than Ranboo had ever seen him. He'd lost so much of the fight and fire that fueled him. It felt so wrong. He started caring less about his physical well being, too. Tommy was tall. He shouldn't have been this light. 

Tommy wasn't okay. And somehow he was the only one still around to notice.

Ghostbur had started to hum a soft, comforting tune as the rain turned to snow. The crunch beneath Ranboo's boots was constant and steadying. He could reign in his thoughts and just focus on getting Tommy to Techno's place. As he saw glowing lights in the distance, Ranboo decided he had a few words for the men inside.

The snow was picking up. As they started to climb the steps, the front door opened. Phil hurried out onto the landing, watching as two teenagers--one barely conscious and sick, the other carrying him--and a ghost protecting them from the elements with a shield climbed the stairs. Ranboo nearly stopped, just to stare into Phil's eyes in a way that showed he was mad, but Tommy was more important. 

"He needs help," Ranboo said, voice flat. He stepped past Phil and into the house. "And you're going to help him." 

The next few minutes were a blur to Ranboo. He'd followed Phil down a hallway, laid Tommy down on a bed, and collapsed in a chair in the corner. He saw people go in and out and could tell they were talking, but none of it registered. He could only hear the roar of wind in his ears and his own heartbeat. He finally snapped out of his exhaustive daze when Ghostbur waved a hand in front of his face. He blinked, refocusing his eyes, and looked up. 

"Phil brought soup, but he told me to tell you that you should get out of your armor first," Ghostbur explained. "He said he doesn't want you getting sick, too." 

Ranboo slipped off his helmet, shaking out his hair before moving to the clasps on the rest of him. He asked tiredly, "What about Tommy?" 

"He's... He's really bad. But Phil said he'll be okay! He and Techno have a lot of resources, so Tommy'll be back to normal soon enough," Ghostbur answered, nodding confidently. 

Back to normal. Right.

Either way, Ranboo took the hot meal gratefully. He'd properly thank Phil later, but now he was too tired and concerned to gather his thoughts. He set his bowl aside when he was finished and stood from his chair. Ghostbur had gone to catch up with his dad and brother, so it left Ranboo alone with Tommy. 

He slowly stepped up to Tommy's bedside. He was asleep, and he'd been changed into different clothes, at some point. He no longer wore his torn shirt and pants, and it made something in Ranboo's heart settle. He was still sweating and his breaths still shook his whole body, but Ranboo wasn't as scared as he was before. He knew they could cure Tommy's sickness. He didn't know what they could do about everything else. 

His hand moved without him realizing, at first. When he did notice, he stopped, wondering if he was about to break some boundaries. Well, Tommy had initiated it earlier, so... he'd probably be okay if he did it this time. He hoped.

Ranboo slid his hand into Tommy's. He heard another shaking breath escape Tommy's lips. He squeezed, and felt Tommy's hand weakly squeeze back. 

He had a lot to think about.

**Author's Note:**

> my idealistic fantasies drag me down another hole. I will explain this next Pogtopia Breakdown post.
> 
> I appreciate any and all comments/kudos/bookmarks you choose to leave! 
> 
> You can follow my [tumblr](https://quibbels.tumblr.com/) for fic updates and my [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/quiblii) to see more stuff from me!


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